Political Discussion Thread (With Rules)

[Cygnia]

The cruelty is the point.

 

GOP Bill Could Hit Women Who Miscarry With Murder Charges

[tkdguy]

In North Carolina, the governor vetoed an abortion ban bill. Unfortunately, the state Congress had a Republican supermajority in both houses, so they were able to override the veto.

 

Democrat Donna Deegan elected Mayor of Jacksonville, Florida

 

Sexual harassment charges filed against Rudy Giuiliani. And that's not all!

[wcw43921]

"If you start chasing Jesus with everything that you have, I promise you, your husband will chase you chasing Jesus,"

 

So this, apparently, is what happens when you chase votes and the MAGA agenda, instead of chasing Jesus.

[Cygnia]

https://thehill.com/homenews/state-watch/4007362-texas-passes-bill-stripping-authority-from-cities/

Quote

A sweeping Texas bill stripping authority from cities passed the state Senate on Tuesday and is now headed to the governor’s desk.

House Bill 2127 takes large domains of municipal governing — from payday lending laws to regulations on rest breaks for construction workers to laws determining whether women can be discriminated against based on their hair — out of the hands of the state’s largely Democratic-run cities and shifts them to its Republican-controlled legislature.

According to the Austin American Statesman, Gov. Greg Abbott (R) has been a vocal supporter of the bill.

 

[Lord Liaden]

I've taken to using a line I first heard from Beau of the Fifth Column: "Republicans don't want to represent you. They want to rule you."

[Lord Liaden]

An Axios poll released yesterday finds that a rising number of Americans are switching religions.  The increase over just the past two years has been dramatic, from 16% to 24%. And the breakdown of their motivations is quite informative.

[Dr. MID-Nite]

At the risk of sounding inflammatory....that's not surprising.

[Iuz the Evil]

 

I laughed…

Edited May 18, 2023 by Iuz the Evil

[unclevlad]

4 hours ago, Lord Liaden said:

An Axios poll released yesterday finds that a rising number of Americans are switching religions.  The increase over just the past two years has been dramatic, from 16% to 24%. And the breakdown of their motivations is quite informative.

 

To echo Dr. Mid-Nite to a degree, I'm not surprised either.  To me, this feels like a direct consequence, even corollary to, the increasing political polarization.  From the article:

 

Quote

Yes, but: Most churchgoers (56%) do not believe their current church is more divided by politics than it was five years ago, the study found.

 

That smacks of polar contraction, as a)  the doubters leave, and b)  the remaining group reaches out less and less to other groups.  When all believe the same things, there is no division.  When all listen to one viewpoint, there is no division.  Just polar contraction.

 

Elsewhere, just in from NYT:  Texas legislature passes a bill banning puberty blockers and hormone treatments for minors.  Abbott hasn't signed it, yet...but it's gonna happen as soon as the paperwork is complete.  Sad, but totally expected.

[Armitage]

21 hours ago, Cygnia said:

https://thehill.com/homenews/state-watch/4007362-texas-passes-bill-stripping-authority-from-cities/

 

 

It reminds me of the Republican state legislatures that transferred powers from the Governor to themselves in the period between a Democrat being elected Governor and the Governor taking office.

[unclevlad]

Due to DeSantis' crusade against them, Disney pulled the plug on a planned shift of some people from California to Florida.  It was a billion dollar project and would've led to 2000 jobs for Florida.

 

Texas...my gosh, they want anarchy.  From the article:

 

Quote

The state legislature only meets every two years, making each session a logjam of potential bills, most of which never go anywhere. In 2022, for example, the Legislature passed about 38 percent of the nearly 10,000 bills introduced.

 

I wrote "they want anarchy"...and actually that's when a bell rang.  Because I think that's the point.  They want to eliminate government involvement.  The state won't be able to handle the local issues, so the net impact will be NO governance.  Can't reduce any more than that.  I also have to expect that this is going to let Texas businesses skate on LOTS and LOTS of laws...and I don't trust any large businesses, anywhere.  

 

One can argue the morality of this bill, versus the various other suppressive measures, but IMO, this one is a dozen steps beyond anything else anyone's enacted this century, in terms of sheer, bullheaded STUPIDITY, and probably a few steps beyond everything else in terms of disenfranchisement...which of course is the goal.

[Starlord]

Florida teacher under investigation for showing Disney movie with gay character

[DShomshak]

Speaking of anarchy...

 

 

Though I don't think Texas Republicans want anarchy, as such. Ochlocracy (mob rule), maybe. Definitely to hobble the formal machinery of constitutional government in order to create space for other groups to exert power. But those groups will be organized.

 

Dean Shomshak

[Lord Liaden]

There are certainly people in the Republican Party today who hate government -- all government -- and want to tear it down. The GOP tried to absorb them, helped them get elected, so now they're tearing down government from within. Given the mentality I hear from some of them, I'm not sure they've even thought about what happens afterwards.

[BoloOfEarth]

1 hour ago, Lord Liaden said:

Given the mentality I hear from some of them, I'm not sure they've even thought

 

I'm pretty sure you could have stopped the sentence right there.

[Cygnia]

D.C. police officer arrested, accused of leaking info to Proud Boys leader

Quote

Shane Lamond, a 24-year veteran of the D.C. police and then the department’s head of intelligence, entered a not guilty plea to an indictment on one count of obstruction of justice and three counts of making false statements. Prosecutors allege that Lamond leaked information to Proud Boys leader Henry “Enrique” Tarrio as they discussed the group’s protest plans in D.C. in 2020 and January 2021, when Lamond’s duties included monitoring extremist groups.

 

Lamond, 47, of Stafford, Va., falsely denied tipping off Tarrio about the progress of an investigation and that he would be arrested on Jan. 4, 2021, for his part in burning a Black Lives Matter flag stolen from a historic African American church during a pro-Trump rally weeks earlier, according to the indictment.

 

 

Tarrio, who earlier this month was found guilty of seditious conspiracy with three other Proud Boys leaders in the Capitol riot, had argued during that trial that his communications with Lamond showed the Proud Boys did not conspire to commit violence and that the group had shared its plans with law enforcement.

 

[unclevlad]

10 hours ago, DShomshak said:

Speaking of anarchy...

 

 

Though I don't think Texas Republicans want anarchy, as such. Ochlocracy (mob rule), maybe. Definitely to hobble the formal machinery of constitutional government in order to create space for other groups to exert power. But those groups will be organized.

 

Dean Shomshak

 

Oh, the anarchy isn't their end goal.  That's a corporate-police state.

 

But Merriam-Webster offers these:
1

a: absence of government
b: a state of lawlessness or political disorder due to the absence of governmental authority
c: a utopian society of individuals who enjoy complete freedom without government
2
a: absence or denial of any authority or established order
b: absence of order : DISORDER
 

Note that the anarchy is, in this case, targeted...at the cities who don't toe the low-government line.  So, one can argue a different word choice...reprisal, perhaps...but my feeling is, the goal is to make things a big mess, for the cities...and to make much of their policies either void, or unenforceable.  When the disasters happen, they'll try to put the blame on the city leaders.  

 

We'll see if this passes constitutional muster, but there, I have no clue.  It's actually NOT a case I'd like to see at the Supreme Court.  First:  I don't think there's much in the US Constitution about devolution of power from the state to local authorities...just from the federal government to the states.  Second, trying to draw such lines feels like it's opening the door for trouble.  The states were given flexibility for good reason.  That said, there is a route to overturn this in the SC, by going with various grounds...they're not being represented.  1st Amendment, the clause that the citizens can petition the government for redress of grievances...this becomes really shaky when there's no local government.  The state can't address very small, localized issues effectively.

[Iuz the Evil]

Incorporated municipalities derive their authority from the State. It’s bad behavior, but almost certainly legal (I’m sure it will be litigated though). California did this during the pandemic related to local jurisdictions wanting to pass laws in opposition to State policy, there are exceptions but in general the State can override local jurisdictions (City or County) if (and only if) there is a conflict between the local laws and State. When there’s a direct conflict, State law supersedes the local authority.

[unclevlad]

Mmmm....ok.  But a big question, to me, is the *scope* here.  I'd think, generally, the state exercising this control is usually limited.  This bill invalidates any local rule where a state rule exists.  That's where the bill might be challenged, but...it seems the chance of success may be fairly low.

 

I'm becoming very concerned that 2024 is our last chance.  If we as voters, don't start pushing back, given the actions of the last couple years, then...when?

[Cygnia]

In other news, Fox has dismissed their entire investigative arm.

[unclevlad]

2 hours ago, Cygnia said:

In other news, Fox has dismissed their entire investigative arm.

 

Well, of course.  They were the most under-utilized people in history.

[Lord Liaden]

Certainly their opinion hosts were what brought in the larger audiences, and they never bothered ascertaining the facts of any story anyway.

 

But if Fox really is laying off staff to try to cut costs, that implies that the lawsuit settlement hit them pretty hard. In which case the further lawsuits being pursued by various parties stand a chance of fatally crippling the network.

[unclevlad]

Yeah, that's a hopeful thought, but it's more disturbing to me that they picked people from the news division, when, the damage was done by the opinion hosts.  None of them have been canned.  If we ask, what does Fox News value?  This does not point to an attractive answer.

I do agree tho, that it does suggest they *are* feeling pain from this, which was something some here doubted.  Unless SmartMatic can get a similar amount, tho...I don't really see them being fatally crippled.  I am, however, quite hopeful that it happens.

[Logan D. Hurricanes]

[Lord Liaden]

There is also former Fox producer Abby Grossberg's two lawsuits saying that Fox’s lawyers had pushed her to give a misleading deposition in the Dominion case and alleging a hostile and discriminatory work environment. Ms. Grossberg was fired after filing the complaints.

 

But Fox's enormous settlement to Dominion shows that they're vulnerable. That put their blood in the water, and I guarantee that other litigants are lining up to get their pound of flesh.